Ruth Fitzgerald

Ruth Patricia Fitzgerald (born 1956) is a New Zealand anthropology academic, and as of 2019 is a full professor at the University of Otago.

Academic career

After a 1999 PhD titled Who cares? : an ethnographic investigation of the meaning of care at the University of Otago, Fitzgerald joined the staff, rising to full professor in 2018. In 2015 Fitzgerald was awarded the Royal Society of New Zealand's Te Rangi Hiroa Medal. Her work covers the social and political context of many health issues, such as the ethics of reversing heritable deafness or terminating pregnancy. Fitzgerald has been called one of the 'founding scholars' of medical anthropology in New Zealand, alongside Julie Park.

Selected works

Fitzgerald, Ruth P., W. Murray Thomson, C. T. Schafer, and M. A. Loose. "An exploratory qualitative study of Otago adolescents' views of oral health and oral health care." The New Zealand Dental Journal 100, no. 3 (2004): 62–71.